Research Week Unites Kindred Scientific Spirits
Having bonded over a shared passion for science and medicine, a group of previously unacquainted high school students laughed their way through a lunchbreak of teen-approved pizza and a fiercely competitive game of Uno.
Student George Phillips III from Harvard-Westlake Upper School in Studio City works on a stem-cell experiment under the watchful eye of his mentor, research associate Dylan West, during Research Week July 22-26 at Cedars-Sinai in Los Angeles.
Credit for this biomedical bonding goes to Research Week, which hosted 13 high school students in late July. Launched in 2011 as a component of the Cedars-Sinai Board of Governors Regenerative Medicine Institute's High School Outreach Program, Research Week annually immerses area high school students in the real world of investigators who are harnessing the therapeutic potential of induced pluripotent stem cells (IPSCs). (IPSCs can be genetically reprogrammed to become any cell type in the body.)
The eight girls and five boys selected for this year's summer session spent much of each day on the eighth floor of the Advanced Health Sciences Pavilion. After donning lab coats and snapping on disposable gloves, students joined one of four mentor-led research teams and engaged in science at a level typically reserved for those with PhD after their names.
This rarified research air wasn't lost on Sabina Yampolsky, 17, a soon-to-be senior at Harvard-Westlake Upper School in Studio City. "I really enjoyed being exposed to such skilled researchers, and the equipment we used and the techniques we learned are so much more advanced than what's available at my high school," she noted. Yampolsky's team focused on mastering cell culture techniques used in the formation of brain organoid models created from stem cells. (An organoid is a three-dimensional representation of an organ.)
Yampolsky's teammate, 17-year-old Lauren Evans-Katz, not only appreciated Research Week's hands-on learning opportunities, but the experience shattered some preconceived notions. "I always assumed that researchers worked alone, and I was pleasantly surprised at the degree of collaboration and teamwork," explained Evans-Katz, a rising senior at The Archer School for Girls in Los Angeles. "I also had this stereotype of scientists as boring people, but I discovered that they're really creative and empathetic."
Several students summed up Research Week's most impactful takeaway with a single word: inspiring.
"Researchers can make discoveries that improve the lives of millions of people. I hadn't realized what an important role they can play in advancing medicine and that inspires me to pursue research," said HyunBin Lee, 17, who will start the new schoolyear as a senior at John Marshall High School in Los Angeles. Lee's team studied the structural abnormalities of fallopian tube organoid models made from stem cells.
Thirteen Southern California high school students worked one-on-one with biomedical scientists to perform stem-cell research July 22-26 during the annual Research Week at Cedars-Sinai in Los Angeles. The students included: Front row, l. to r.: Sabina Yampolsky, Harvard-Westlake Upper School, Los Angeles; Eva Danesh, Beverly Hills High School; Ryan Tsang, Palisades Charter High School, Pacific Palisades; Chakameh Shakib, Palisades Charter High School; Gila Braun, Notre Dame High School, Sherman Oaks; and Ye Ji Park, Rise Kohyang High School, Los Angeles; Back row, l to r: Isabel Sagheb, Notre Dame High School, Sherman Oaks; Isabel Eggerling, Hamilton High School, Los Angeles; George Phillips III, Harvard-Westlake Upper School, Studio City; Lauren Evans-Katz, Archer School for Girls; Joshua Khorsandi, Beverly Hills High School; Tom Murickan, Diamond Bar High School; HyunBin Lee, John Marshall High School, Los Angeles.
George Phillips III, a 17-year-old rising senior at Harvard-Westlake Upper School, echoed Lee's observation. "It was inspiring to meet real researchers who are exploring new frontiers that may lead to important discoveries. That definitely increased my interest in research." Phillips' team tested the barrier capacity of stem-cell-derived brain microvascular endothelia cells (BMECs). (BMECs are the major component of the blood-brain barrier that protects the brain from potentially harmful substances in blood.)
Students weren't alone in being impacted positively by Research Week. For Veronica Garcia, PhD, this was the first Research Week she coordinated since being named director of the High School Outreach Program last year. Summing up the experience, she said, "It was so heartwarming to see that these students have a sincere, intrinsic drive to do good through science. They really want to benefit others and that gives you hope for the future."
In addition to mastering pipetting and other fundamental lab skills, students visited the Biomedical Imaging Research Institute's Imaging Core, the Women's Guild Simulation Center for Advanced Clinical Skills and attended presentations by Cedars-Sinai regenerative medicine experts. Research Week culminated with students presenting their projects to members of the Cedars-Sinai research community.
Garcia, who also is a postdoctoral scientist in the laboratory of Clive Svendsen, PhD, director of the Regenerative Medicine Institute and professor of Biomedical Sciences, was duly impressed.
"It was remarkable how much these students absorbed in just five days," she said. "They were given a great opportunity and they really stepped up."
Students who would like to participate in next year's Research Week must first apply to the Cedars-Sinai Teen Volunteer Program. Applications for the Teen Volunteer Program will be available Feb. 1, 2020, on the program's website. Students must be at least age 17. Admission is based on various criteria, including grade-point average and the quality of an applicant's essay.